Ethics panel outsources Waters case

Stung by allegations of misconduct within the secretive panel, the House Ethics Committee has turned to an outside counsel to handle the stalled investigation of Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the latest sign of trouble for a committee bogged down in partisan sniping and personnel issues.

Billy Martin, a partner at the law firm Dorsey & Whitney, has been hired by the committee to “review, advise and assist the committee in completing the matter of Rep. Maxine Waters,” Reps. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) and Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), the chairman and ranking member on Ethics, said in a statement on Wednesday.

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The decision to retain an outside counsel is an attempt by the Ethics Committee to regain control of the Waters controversy, which had threatened to undermine the panel’s credibility. Internal documents, first revealed by POLITICO on Monday, showed the committee and its professional, nonpartisan staff were riven with infighting and conflicting agendas as the committee took on the cases of Waters and Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) late last year.

Martin has also been charged with looking into whether the Ethics Committee handled the Waters case properly. POLITICO reported earlier this week that two former Ethics Committee investigators reportedly were secretly feeding information to Bonner and other Republicans on the committee about the two unrelated investigations into Waters and Rangel.

Martin, an African-American, is a highly respected criminal defense attorney, and his presence may be useful in blunting any accusations of racial insensitivity inside the Ethics Committee. His noted clients have included Monica Lewinsky’s family, football star Michael Vick and scandal-plagued former Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho).

Bonner and Sanchez said in their statement that Martin’s first task will be to look into those claims made by Blake Chisam, the former staff director and chief counsel on the panel, in private memos to Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.). Lofgren served as chairwoman of the Ethics Committee during the 111th Congress.

And it could mean several months — and hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional costs — to reach any resolution in the Waters controversy. Martin’s contract with the Ethics Committee, which was approved by the Committee on House Administration on Wednesday, runs until January 2012. Martin’s firm could collect $50,000 to $500,000 in fees.

Waters used the Ethics Committee’s decision to appoint Martin as vindication in her claim of unfair treatment by the panel. She also called for the public release of Martin’s findings.

“For the first time in the history of the Ethics Committee, it has initiated an inquiry into its own misconduct and taken the extraordinary step of hiring an outside counsel to explore the depth and breadth of the committee’s misconduct,” Waters said. “Given what’s already in the public domain, it’s hard to imagine that a deeper review into the committee’s conduct would do anything but reveal more troubling information. In the name of transparency, the counsel’s findings should be made public.”